Safety member for rising stem valves



Dec. 16, 1941. P. A. H. WEISS 2,266,290 7 SAFETY MEMBER FOR RISING STEMVALVES Filed March 18, 1941 INVENTOR Patented Dec. 16, 1941 Paul.m-nsweiss, Poughkeepsie, Y. Application Mar-r1118, 1941, Serial ,No.383 978 ii Claims. (cram-e150) This invention relates to valves havingarising stem which is operated \tomove relative .tothe handiwheelson therotation of the latter, ,and the principal object .of the .invention isto provide .the free end of the rising stem with protective means sotthat accidentahoontact therewith cannot result :in anyinjury.

:A further ,objectrof this invention is to so ponstruct and arrange thprotective -member on the rising stem that it cannot interfere in.any-nf its positions with the normal operation of the valve.

Still :another objectmf this invention is to provide a combinedprotective and indicating member for rising stem valves so that infurnishing protection against injury by accidental contact with thestem, the operative position of the valve is simultaneously indicatedthereby.

All these and other objects and attendant advantages of the inventionwill become more readily apparent from the detailed description of oneembodiment thereof which follows, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of theprotective member and hand wheel for the protection and operation of therising stem valve.

Figure 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the upper portion of theframe of a rising stem valve with the protective member attached to therising stem.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view of the protective member at the endof the stem to which it is attached, the section being taken on the line3--3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 illustrates a cross section of a modifled form of theprotective member on the end of a rising valve stem.

The use of valves having rising stems brings with it the danger ofhaving anyone who works around the valves accidentally collide with theraised stems. A stem, when raised, projects above the hand wheel as athin rod which, especially in poorly lighted places, is not readilydiscernible and anyone moving around it is likely to more or lessforcibly come in contact with it and injure himself as the result of it.

One of the reasons for the use of valves having rising stems is theindication which the projecting portion of the stem gives of theposition of the valve which is operated by it. Thus a stem whichprojects its entire distance above the hand wheel shows that the valveis completely open, whereas a valve with a non-projecting stem from thehand wheel indicates that the valve is closed. For this reason theprotective member for the rising stem, forming the subject matter of mypresent inventi n, iscarried'a he t in 51. 911 in nn r that it ecannoint rfer with .themQM ment of the stem into any pos t on and at the satim is soarran ed tha itsvpo ti nrelative to the hand wheel is quicklydiscernible ,to ,indicate the distance, if a y. t e valve st m h s beenmoved'byt e hand wh e In this warthe po tion of the protec v m ans how{a glance whether'the.yalveislopen or closedand if open towhatdosreeitis held-open.

.In the embodimen o the invent on i lu t t in the f gures of thefolravvi ngthe,protectiv,e meme ber comprises a disc I of rubber orother suitable flexible and resilient material which is self restoringwhen distorted from its normal disc shape. In the center the disc isheld between a pair of suitable washers 2, 2 of heat resisting materialso that a clamping bolt 3, which passes thru the washers and the disc,is adapted to fasten the disc to the top of the rising stem 4.

To receive the bolt 3, the end of the rising stem 4 is suitably drilledand tapped so that in fastening the disc to the stem, it is normallyheld in a plane at right angles to the axis of the stem and in a planeparallel to that of the hand wheel 5 which operates the rising stem. Thehand wheel is keyed or otherwise suitably fastened to the threadedbushing l which is mounted to rotate in the top of the frame 8 of thevalve. In this way rotation of the hand wheel rotates the bushing andcauses the stem to be threaded up or down in the frame 8 for theoperation of the valve.

As illustrated in the figures, a rubber head 9 surrounds the head of thebolt 3 above the washer 2 to complete the protective cushion provided bythe disc I for the end of the rising stem.

The protective disc may be White or of such color that it willimmediately attract attention and give warning of the presence of aprojecting valve stem. The color of the disc is also preferably incontrast to that of the hand wheel so that any spacing between the discand the hand Wheel is immediately discernible to indicate the amount, ifany, the valve is held open by the stem.

The disc, as illustrated, has a smaller diameter for the rising stem mayhave a dished cross Section to permit the use of thin or extremelyflexible material and give the protecting disc made from such materialthe desired rigidity that will cause it to keep its normal shape and beself restoring when distorted on contact therewith.

I claim:

1. In a valve having a rising stem and a hand wheel for raising andlowering said stem relative thereto, a flexible disc member, and meansfor fastening said disc member to the top of said stem to have itproject laterally therefrom and be bendable toward the stem in any ofits elevated positions above said hand wheel to provide a protectivecushion at any point around the stem.

2. In a valve having a rising stem the combination as set forth in claim1 in Which said flexible member has a dished cross section.

3. A safety member for valves having a rising stem, comprising aflexible, substantially disc shaped member and fastening means carriedby said disc shaped member for engagement of said stem for holding saiddisc shaped member to the end of the stem in a plane substantially atright angles to said stem, said disc shaped member being sufficientlyflexible and resilient to be bendable toward said stem and beself-restoring when distorted from its normal position and of 511111-rotating in a fixed position for the endwise move ment of said stem,comprising a flexible, substantially disc shaped member and meanscoacting with said stem for holding said disc shaped member to the endof the stem for movement therewith and projection therefrom around saidstem so as to provide a protective cushion around the end of said stemand indicate the position of the end of the stem relative to thehandwheel.

5. A safety member for valves having a rising stem and a hand wheelrotating in a fixed position for the endwise movement of said stem,comprising a flexible substantially disc shaped memcient rigidity whenpositioned on said stem by her of smaller diameter than that of saidhand wheel, and means for fastening said disc shaped member to the freeend of said stem to permit the rotation of said hand wheel with the discmember spaced from or in close proximity to said hand wheel.

6. In a valve having a rising stem and a hand wheel for raising andlowering said stem relative thereto, a flexible disc member, a resilienthead on top of said flexible disc member, and means for fastening saiddisc member and said head to the top of said stem to have said discmember project laterally therefrom and be bendable toward the stem inany of its elevated positions above said hand wheel and have saidresilient head project above said stem to have said disc member and saidhead provide a protective cushion at any point around and above thestem.

PAUL A. H. WEISS.

